LinuxPPC gets its first office suite

January 9, 1999
Web posted at: 9:33 a.m. EST (1433 GMT)

by James Niccolai

(IDG) -- SAN FRANCISCO – LinuxPPC will announce
next week that Applix has developed a
version of its Applixware Office software
suite that runs on the LinuxPPC operating
system, officials from both companies said
this week.

Based on Red Hat Software's Red Hat 5.0,
LinuxPPC is a version of the popular Linux
open-source operating system designed to
run on PowerPC processors. Its use currently
is restricted mostly to a band of computer
enthusiasts, but the availability of an office
suite for the platform could help open the
door to wider use, said Jason Haas, Linux
PPC's marketing director.

LinuxPPC runs "natively" on PowerPC
computers rather than relying on the Mach
microkernel as other versions of Linux for
PowerPC, such as MkLinux, do. As a result,
LinuxPPC is about 20 percent faster than
microkernel-based offerings, according to
Haas.

Applixware Office is sold mostly to
businesses that use workstations running
proprietary Unix versions like Sun
Microsystems' Solaris and Hewlett-Packard's
HP-UX. Two years ago, Applix "got religion"
and decided to port its office suite to
open-source operating systems, said Steve
Miller, director of sales at Applix.

Miller sees the Linux market as "a big fat
niche," which he expects will grow
significantly in the next couple of years,
spurred on by the momentum gathering
behind open-source software. Applixware,
which includes mail, spreadsheet and word
processing applications, is already available
for machines that run Linux and are based
either on Intel or Alpha chips.

Sales to Linux customers represent 5 to 10
percent of Applix's current business, but
Miller thinks that figure could rise to 25
percent in the next 18 to 24 months, he
said.

LinuxPPC's booth at Macworld here this week
was crawling with users on Tuesday. One of
them said the OS has "come a long way" in
the past year in terms of its speed and
stability.

"It crashes less often than the Mac OS
does," said Nathan Sheeley, a PowerPC
verification engineer for Motorola. Sheeley
uses the operating system at home because
it gives him "something to hack with."

LinuxPPC plans to release version 5.0 of its
OS in about three weeks, Haas said.

"In terms of the technology, Release 5.0
should put LinuxPPC on par with the Intel
Linux platform," Haas said. PowerPC versions
of Linux typically lag behind Linux on Intel in
terms of features and performance.

LinuxPPC bundled with Applix's office suite
will be available Jan. 12, priced at $129,
Haas said.

LinuxPPC sells its operating system
separately on CD-ROM priced at $32, and
will ship it anywhere in the world for an extra
$6, he said. Users can also download
LinuxPPC for free from the company's Web
site, but it takes a long time without a
high-speed connection, Haas said.

The company sold about 20,000 CD-ROM's
last year, and about 300,000 more users
downloaded the OS, according to Haas.

The operating system runs on most PowerPC
computers, including Apple's Power Macintosh, iMac and PowerBook. It
also runs on a variety of IBM and Motorola RS/6000, CHRP and PReP
computers.